The management of Shaanxi Mining Ghana Limited in Gbane in the Talensi District of the Upper East Region has appealed to government to permanently seal off illegal pits connected to their mine as a lasting solution to mining-related deaths in the area.
Shaanxi provides support service to the Yenyeya and Pubortaaba mining group in the area.
According to the Shaanxi mining company, the invasion of illegal miners into their underground mine shortly after blasting to pilfer gold ore is negatively affecting their operations.
The Lands and Natural Resources Ministry in 2019 ordered the sealing of all illegal pits connected to Shaanxi mine but the company said illegal miners have devised other means of invading their mine to steal ore.
Speaking to Citi News in Tongo at a handing over of sewing machines to dressmaking women, Public Relations Officer of Shaanxi, Maxwell Wooma said, in spite of several actions taken by the Minerals Commission and the Lands and Natural Resources Ministry to stop the menace, activities of illegal miners continue to pose safety threats to their mine and exposes illegal miners to health hazards that must be nibbed in the bud.
“There has been a rather painful resurgence of illegal miners’ invasions into the underground operations of the company. These illegal entries expose the illegal miners to all forms of danger including inhalation of blast fumes which is dangerous to human life.
“The modus operandi by these illegal miners is that they rush into the underground tunnels shortly after the company’s scheduled blasts to pilfer the ore. During this re-entry period, no one is aware of their entry through illegal ingresses thus exposes them to danger.”
Mr. Wooma appealed to the government to swiftly enforce its recommendations by sealing all illegal pits within the area.
“Our plea is that the government will cause a swift exercise of permanently sealing off all those pits illegally connected to our workings underground to enable us to continue to mine safely.
When we do this, it will enhance more investment in the area and make the gold mineral a blessing rather than a bane”.
Mr. Wooma hinted of more employable opportunities for the youth within the region as the company prepares for large scale mining under its new name Earl International Group (Ghana) Gold Resources Limited.
“The government of Ghana has granted us the lease and soon, we shall witness a boom in the gold mining business in the district. This portends greater job opportunities for our people and we respectfully urge for the needed support to bring this to fruition”.
He added that the company will soon commence the construction of teachers and nurses quarters and a social centre for the Gbane community.
Mr. Wooma indicated that, the company has under an MOU with the Gbane community has provided social amenities and other developmental projects to improve livelihoods of the community.
“We drilled 5 five boreholes with hand pumps installed for the Gbane and Gaare communities and five more shall be constructed for them this year before the rains set in. we constructed a 9 unit classroom block with offices, granted a scholarship to eight needy but brilliant students at various levels of education and reshaped some feeder roads within the mining area.”